Durban restaurants say #strawsmustfall

It’s the last straw for some environmentally conscious Durban food establishments‚ who say they have had enough of plastic pollution.

Afro’s Chicken outlets‚ Parc-Café in Glenwood‚ the KZNSA Art Gallery café and Gecko Culinary Adventures have all ditched plastic straws from their eateries in the interests of protecting the environment.

Chicken franchise Afro’s posted a notice at their establishments last week that they have removed drinking straws from all their shops.

According to a sign posted they say: “Straws are a single-use plastic.Gazillions end up in landfills and in our oceans every day. The environmental effects are not lekker. Join us in this worldwide movement. It’s a small sacrifice and it’s only the start of our journey”.

“We’ve received a really positive response so far to our decision to remove all plastic straws from our shops. We won’t be introducing the paper straws as these have a wax coating which is not environmentally friendly but please feel free to ask for a glass to drink out of when ordering drinks,” said Dee Gravett‚ who handles Afro’s social media and marketing.

“Afro’s is working on removing all plastic packaging from our shops. We will soon be introducing our water and fruit juices in glass bottles. We believe that a small change in our attitude to plastic will encourage others to follow suit.”

“It’s like an epidemic‚ but in a good way. Bravo @kznsagallery café for ditching the straw. More movement towards showing active care for our world‚” the lifestyle app HeyDurban shared.

Jesse Felthuis‚ head chef at Gecko Culinary Adventures in Musgrave‚ said walking along the beach‚ one always sees straws washed on the high tide line.

“To be environmentally aware and conscious about it‚ we decided it was pointless keeping plastic straws when we could make a difference now. And decided about three months ago to get reusable plastic and bamboo straws which are dishwasher friendly‚” Felthuis said.